May 9th Webinar: Deeper Segmentation Techniques for Fundraising!

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If you looked at the exclamation point in the subject heading and said, “Huh? That doesn’t look exciting at all,” you can just stop reading now.

But for those of you who get excited by the idea of fundraising segmentation (I know you’re out there!), I wanted to let you know I’m hosting a free webinar next week to explore practical fundraising segmentation techniques. I’m going to try some new visualization techniques that may or may not work, so that in and of itself will provide some excitement above and beyond the subject matter!

This webinar is a follow-up to my presentation at the Nonprofit Technology Conference last month, but will be a complement to it — attendance at that presentation is not a prerequisite. So for those of you who did not attend, I promise you’ll still get something out of the presentation.

It takes on May 9 at 1:00 Central, and you can register here. Hope to see you there!

A Safari Guy Tries Google Chrome

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Although quite a bit of my analytics work is done on a PC, I’m a Mac guy at heart, and so for browsing I pretty much stick to Apple’s Safari browser. But recently I’ve gotten so fed-up with Safari slowing down, hanging, or crashing all together that I’ve started to look for an alternative. Given the good buzz and amazing adoption, I’m trying out Google Chrome.

I’m not a huge fan of Google, because I think they make some dumb moves for a company claiming to be committed to doing no evil. In particular, I believe their track record with regards to privacy, or really the lack thereof, is disturbing. Personal liberties and personal privacy are both very important to me, so I find this very unsettling. Very unsettling.

And yet, to be a business person in 2012, indeed to be any person in 2012, means being a part of the internet world, and that in turn means being a part of Google’s world. I’ve half-heartedly adopted Google+, although I don’t quite get it yet, and I’m not sure why I need another Facebook. But in terms of a typical work day, mine like yours probably involves dozens of searches through Google.

My first reactions to Chrome are surprisingly good. 

  • Cool splash on the download page. I like aesthetics.
  • Brainless import of other browser settings — it is amazing how difficult other browsers make this process. While this might speak to further concerns about privacy (!), it is great in terms of ease of use. Well done Google.
  • Seems about as fast as Safari, and does hang a bit here and there, but the browsing experience feels streamlined and well thought-out.
  • It took me a second to get my head around the tab system versus Safari’s, but I like it.
  • I like that the address line and the search line are integrated rather than two separate boxes like on Safari. This created a head-scratch moment at first, but it actually makes more sense.
  • I like that my bookmarks are synched (privacy concerns, privacy concerns — see, I’m my own worst enemy) without having to add a layer like iCloud, which is honestly a bit clunky to me. Really Apple? I need to sign up for iCloud, find the control panel, log onto it on each computer, and tell each computer what to sync? Oh, and I can’t even intelligently merge my bookmarks? In practical terms that is no different than what I need to do with Chrome, but the Google experience is a lot easier. I can do it all without leaving the browser. Not to mention the incredible dysfunctional mess for people with previous MobileMe accounts.
  • I like the Chrome Web Store. In contrast to what I found during the three minutes or so that I was an Android user, the store is well laid out, colorful, and beautifully designed. And better than Safari’s extension area, which feels like an afterthought.

In summary, my first impression is that Safari is the kind of browser that a company focused on computers (er sorry, digital devices) would make, while Chrome is the kind of browser that a company focused on browsing would make. I’m not a total convert yet, but I’m putting the icon in the dock. And the crowd cheers.

I have no idea if anyone at all is interested in these opinions, but I figure that there are a few others out there wondering if Safari is the best way to navigate the online jungle (groan).

Finally, this is probably where I remind readers that I don’t solicit or accept compensation for endorsements. I just use what works, and write about it.

Anyways — happy browsing.

Follow-up: I’ve now used Chrome for a couple of days. It’s my new default browser. 

An Easter thought for you.

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Whether or not Easter is part of your spiritual tradition, it is part of mine — and so it is without expectation and with a full heart that I say, Happy Easter to you all. I’m wishing you a personal rebirth today in whatever form is most meaningful for you.

In particular, I’m wishing you a few moments of reflection and realization that your role is critical and unique; that it is never too late to influence our shared future, because that future always lies in front of us; and that despite our indulgence for cynicism and self-defeat, a better world is solidly within our grasp.

May today be the bud of at least one of those blossoms for you.

Notes from 2012 NTC - Day Two

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The astute observer may note that I’m actually posting notes about day two of NTC on day three of NTC — take it as a sign of how packed day two was. 

Another long but fulfilling day of conversation. I spent an alarmingly large part of the day, and drank an alarmingly large amount of coffee, at the hotel restaurant, which essentially became the office for dozens of NTC attendees all day. There were times the waiters looked a bit annoyed with tables of six people spending $8 on coffee, but I know they made out on the breakfast and lunch tabs so hopefully it evened out for them in the end. 

Highlights:

  • Great meeting with Donna Wilkins of Charity Dynamics. Besides being an expert on social and mobile fundraising, Donna is an astute industry observer. I always enjoy thinking big thoughts with her.
  • Spent some more time with the leadership team at StayClassy, specifically planning for a fantastic new social impact conference later this year. Stay tuned!
  • Our team had a chance to sit down with Nyla and Amy from Mama Hope and hear about their take on development and how to turn it on its head. Exhiliarating and Inspiring.
  • Interesting meeting with Jonah from Altruicity — he’s trying to bring richer outreach and phone experiences to the space. Some potential applications for our clients.

I’m not sure if the above sounds like much, but that takes us to 6:00 last night and a very tired NTC attendee! A highlight of the evening was going with the kick-butt Event 360 team over to House of Nanking for dinner. WOW. Yum. 

Okay, no more procrastinating — I’ve got to put some final touches on my presentation for later this morning. Just keep swimming…

The presentation is being streamed live, so I hope you’ll come along!

 

Notes from 2012 NTC - Day One

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A great day at the 2012 Nonprofit Technology Conference so far. Wanted to send some quick notes.

The Hilton in San Francisco is absolutely buzzing with activity. (Now that I write that, I realize what a lame analogy it is. But picture a really, really busy hotel lobby with people connecting, re-connecting, networking, re-networking. Not sure if that is “buzzing,” but that’s it.)

My day so far has been full of a bunch of different connections:

  • Started with a meeting with GoodThreads CEO Brandon Hance. Great guy. I love what they are doing. Lots of applications for our clients. 
  • That led to a short (and then later, a slightly longer) conversation with Debra Askanase, also known as @AskDebra. If you are in social impact in the Twittersphere (odd that the previous phrase probably makes sense to a lot of people), you know who she is and what she does. She was very complimentary about Event 360’s content strategy, which meant a lot coming from her. 
  • Interesting meeting with the guys at Avectra, the leading association management software. I’m somewhat familiar with the space from a past life. Interesting to hear about the social integration in their platform. Interestingly, they are one of many groups who found out about me through this post. 
  • Great, great inspiring meeting as usual with the fantastic Jane Kim of Ink-Dwell. So thrilled to be working with her. 
  • The usual fantastic exchange with the incomparable Pat Walsh and Scot Chisolm of StayClassy. Nothing more to say about that. Need to go find them down on the floor somewhere. 

Countless other interactions. I’m getting lots of comments about my session coming up on Thursday, so no pressure! Gotta practice some crunching on that dataset. My session is taking place Thursday at 10:30 Pacific, and if you’re not here you can register to watch it, and lots of other great sessions, online at 2012 Online NTC. Check it out!

More to come…

Nonprofit Technology Conference 2012

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Hello everyone from San Francisco, where I arrived late last night for one of my favorite weeks of the year: the Nonprofit Technology Conference. It’s a week to learn from some of the most innovative people in the industry about how they are using technology to drive social impact.

It’s also a week when I traditionally experiment with the time-space continuum to see how many meetings I can cram into 72 hours, and when I conduct a bit of a workplace Lord of the Flies test with my director of marketing: At what point will she skewer me if I still don’t have my presentation materials ready?

All of these things and more I will try to share in bite-size increments throughout the week. Stay tuned!

MuckRuckus MS: Absurdly, ridiculously fun.

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It is late and I need to go to bed after a long day, but I had to write a quick post about how flipping great it was to participate in our team’s MuckRuckus MS event today in Jacksonville. I had an incredibly fun time on this unique take on mud runs — I can without a doubt promise you this is the most well-engineered, hilarious set of obstacles you are going to encounter, for the best cause you are going to encounter, in the growing mud space. An odd sentence, but true.

In the next few days I’ll post some video — I ran the 10K event with a headtop camera, because, why not? — but in the meantime I wanted to thank the National MS Society for the opportunity, and thank the kick-butt Event 360 team for their great work. I can’t wait to do another!

Victory!

I take a practice run on the Helicopter. Hold on!

 

 

Spring perspective.

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Spring has knocked on our door early in the morning and louder than usual, pounding with insistence. Get up - get up - get up. We tumble out of bed and grab our slippers and try to piece together what Nature is saying to us. We’re slow to wake but eventually grasp that it is time to put on the coffee and come outside.

I walk to the concrete wall. There’s a vine and a flower, persistent and patient. “It’s a weed,” someone says. “It will grow and grow and you won’t be able to stop it.”

I look at the blue against the brown. It reminds me of growing up, of licking popsicles while barefoot on the grass, of soft words from parents on warm mornings. If all things like Spring would grow and grow with patient persistence, what a rich world we would make. An emboldening thought, the best bud of the new season.

“It’s beautiful,” I say.

Update: No one needs to hear you say you were right.

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You probably were, and you probably saw it coming a mile away. Whatever it is — the big failure, the big success, the huge win, the huge obstacle — yep, you probably called it weeks ago. Whoa! You were way out in front of that one!

But the moments when you are most tempted to say “HA! I knew it!” are probably the moments when you most need to close your mouth, inhale your hubris, and slowly chew your words. You’ll have a bigger impact by saying, “Hey, how could anyone have known? We all did it. Let’s move forward together.”

Thoughts from Impact 360!

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The kick-butt Event 360 team!I just returned from Valencia, California, where I spent two very full days with our entire Event 360 team at Impact 360, our once-every-18-months-or-so all-team meeting. I’m finding it hard to describe the many thoughts I have rolling around in my head right now, but I thought I’d take a shot at a few of them. 

Here’s what I’m taking away.

  • Show is better than tell, and do is better than show. Even as the leader of an event fundraising company, I sometimes forget how powerful experiences can be. We spent a lot of time in activities and very little time in lectures. There’s just no substitute for something that is immersive and engaging. There’s no substitute for face-to-face interaction. How can you engage someone in a powerful conversation today?
  • “We” is more powerful than “I” or “you.” Our content was developed by a very large group of our team and our core activities involved literally everyone. There’s no doubt in my mind that this made our curriculum much more compelling. What are you doing that would be improved by someone else’s input? (Probably everything.) What can you do to involve them?
  • Your clients and partners can discuss your impact better than you can. It sounds risky to hand over your most important messages to people outside of your organization, but that is exactly what we did. Rather than talk about our accomplishments, we asked clients and partners to discuss it. In what had to be some of the best sessions we’ve ever conducted, we heard unscripted presentations and discussions about our role in other people’s growth. What could you ask your clients to do for you?
  • Not everything works, but trying everything is worth it. We wanted to create a comfortable and unique environment for our team, so among other things, we augmented the normal “chairs and table rounds” you find at a conference with yoga mats and medicine balls. The first day, the medicine balls were completely taken; by the last day, the thrill had worn off and almost every single ball rolled around empty. Still, it was a fun thing to try and a neat thing to do. What silly ideas have you been putting off? Could you implement one today?

I know I’ll have many more thoughts over the next few weeks, but I wanted to write a few today while the meeting was fresh in my mind. 

By far my biggest takeaway is that the Event 360 team absolutely rocks, and I’m nothing but proud and inspired to spend my time with a group of fun, driven, and idealistic world changers. How can we help you?